Aerial tramway or railroad apparatus.



2 SHEETS-SHEET 1` PATENTBD 00T. 10, 1905.

S. L. WELP.

APPLIUATION FILED APF.. 22,1905.

[NVE/v TOR @if/M Af/omey AERIAL TRAMWAY OR RAILROAD APPARATUS.

W/ TNESSES.-

PATENTED 00T. l0, 1905.

S. L. WELP.

AERIAL TRAMWAY 0R RAILROAD APPARATUS.

APPLIOATION FILED APR. 22.1905.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

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SAMUEL L. VELP, OF BROOKLYN, NEY YORK.

AERIAL TRANIWAY OR RAILROAD APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 10, 1905.

Application filed April 22, 1905. Serial No. 256,955.

To mit rch/mz, it may concern.-

Beit known that l, SAMUEL LVELP, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Aerial Tramway or RailroadApparatus, of which the following' is a specification.

This invention relates to an aerial tramway or railroad and theappliances therefor; and the objects are to provide a device of thisclass of simple and economical form capable of being readily put up andused for exercise and pleasure and including a suspended device at anintermediate point to be manipulated or operated by the user of therailroad and appliances in accordance with cert-ain rules andregulations, to provide means for encouraging` safe, pleasant, andhealthful eX- ercise by bringing into play many muscles of the bodywhich are under the tension of the weight strain of the body of theuser, and to provide a carriage which can be quickly applied to andremoved from the cable or analogous device forming a track therefor.

The invention consists in the construction and arrangement of theseveral parts, which will be more fully hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus embodyingthe features of the invention and showing the mode of using' the same.Fig. 2. is a top plan View of the improved apparatus. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation of a carriage forming part of the apparatus. Fig. 4 is a topplan view of the carriage. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the carriage.Fig. 6 is a vertical section through a portion of one of the end postsor uprights for the cable, showing the means for adjusting the latter.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicatecorrespondingparts in the several views.

The numeral 1 designates a surrounding fence, which is preferably madeup of ribbonstrands secured to posts in the ordinary manner, which mayalso be of ornamental form to render the apparatus attractive inappearance. The fence at one end of the inclosure defined thereby has anentranceopening 2 and an exit-opening 3, which may be controlled bysuitable gates or turnstiles. Erected near the entrance-opening 2 is anelevated platform et, held by a supportingframe 5 and having steps 6leading thereto,

the steps and platform being' provided with side guard-rails T. Adjacent'Jo the entrance 2 and step 6 a small building or inclosure o is adaptedto be erected and serve asa ticketoilice and waiting-room or otherpurposes. Rising centrally through the platform et is an upright or post9, having its lower end suitably anchored in the ground, as shown bydotted lines in Fig. 1, and in alinement with this upright or post 9 andat a distance suitable therefrom is a similar post or upright10, whichis considerably shorter than the post 9. EX- tending from the upper endof the post 9 to the similar end of the post 10 is a wire cable 11 orthe like, and owing to the difference in length of the two posts oruprights the said cable has a downward inclination toward the post 10.This cable 11 forms an aerial track or tramway, and to one side thereofat an intermediate point an upright 12 is erected and has an arm 13secured to the upper end thereof and projected over the cable. Asuspending cord, wire, or analogous device let is secured at its upperend to the inner end of the arm 13 and has a football or other similardevice 15 attached to the lower end. The ball or analogous device 15depends below the cable 11, but will be at such elevation in relation tothe user of the apparatus that it will be necessary to throw the footupwardly in order to engage said ball.

The apparatus will also include posts or uprights 16 and 17, similar tothose heretofore described and in reverse position-that is, the post 16,which is nearest the post 10, extends upwardly a greater distance thanthe post 17, and the latter is reinforced against movement, as well asthe post 10, by a brace 18. Transversely-extending steps 19 leadupwardly to a platform 20, through which the post 16 extends, andconnecting the two posts 16 and 1T is a cable 21. The purpose of thisadditional aerial track is to permit the user of the first-mentionedtrack to return toward the inlet or entrance end of the inclosure overthe cable 21 after using' the cable 11 and pass out through theexit-opening 3. The lower terminals of the cables 11 and Q1 will be atsuch distances above the ground-surface that the user may readilydiscngage himself therefrom and also check his movement, as he will beable to Contact with the ground and by performing a few short steps onthe groundsurface will be enabled to stop without liability of injury.

lt is obvious that the cables 11 and Q1 must IOO IOS

IIO

be held taut, and to accommodate taking up slack at any time thereinadjusting devices of a similar nature are employed in connection witheach cable. These adjusting devices are clearly shown by Fig. 6, andeach of the posts or uprights near its upper end has an opening 22extending transversely therethrough and through a wear-plate 23 on theside of the post opposite that to which the cable runs. In the opening22 an elongated eyebolt 24 is loosely fitted anclas an eye 25 at one endand screw-threads 26 extending over the entire length thereof. Thiseyebolt is engaged by an adjusting-wheel or turn-head 27, having acentral hub or sleeve 28,with a screw-threaded bore therethrough toengage the threads 26 of the bolt, the one end of the hub or sleeve 28contacting with the wear-plate 23. By turning the hand-wheel orturn-head 27 in the proper direction the eyebolt 24 will be drawnthrough the post in which it is mounted and take up the slack of thecable attached to the eye 25.

Included in the apparatus is a novel form of carriage 28, whichcomprises an upper member 29 and a lower member 30, both members havingvertical slots therethrough and constructed of light framework, asclearly shown by Fig. 4. The upper member 29 has depending projections31 at opposite ends, terminating in knuckles which receiveupwardly-projecting knuckles 32, forming a part of the lower member 30,the projections 31 and knuckles 32 being located at one side of thecenter of the carriage, so that the lower member may be opened and swungto one side. In the upper member a pair of grooved wheels or sheaves 33are pivotally mounted and held for free rotation, and in the lowermember, at a point opposite the space between the upper wheels orsheaves 33,is a single grooved wheel or sheave 34, having its axle, onwhich it loosely rotates, projected outwardly a considerable distancebeyond lthe opposite sides of the lower member to receive grips 35,which are grasped by the user of the apparatus, as willbemorefullyhereinafter explained. Byhinging the lower member 30 to theupper member 29 the carriage can be readily applied to or disengagedfrom either of the cables 11 and 21; but it is obvious that some meansmust be provided for holding the member 30 reliably closed against themember 29 to prevent accident or injury to the user while the carriageis moving over either of the cables. To accomplish this end, a segmentallatch-bar 36 is pivotally connected at its lower end to the axle 37 ofthe wheel or sheave 34 and held between the inner end of the adjacentgrip 35 and the side of the lower member 30. In the center of the sameside of the upper member 29 a catch-pin 38 is secured and has a flangedhead 39, between which and the side of the said upper member the latchis adapted to move and be locked. The inner edge 40 of the latch isregularly curved, and the terminal of the latch, being below the planeof the upper portion of the pin 38 when said latch is in engagement withthe pin, obstructs any tendency to accidental disengagement of thelatch. In other words, the portion of the curved edge 40 of the latchwhich engages the pin 38 bears snugly on the pin, and to facilitate theoperation of the latch the terminal thereof is provided with anoutwardly-projecting pin 41.

The user of the apparatus ascends to the platform 4 with his carriageand applies it to the cable 11, and then locks the lower member 30,through the medium of the latch 36, to the upper member 29. He thentakes firm hold of the grips 35 and steps off the platform. Owing to theinclination of the cable, the user rapidly gravitates toward the post orupright j 10, and as he approaches the ball or analogous device l5 hekicks the same, and proficiency in this operation may be rewarded undercertain rules or regulations, and, if not, the exercise which resultsfrom the bodily action while the muscles are under tension of the weightstrain of the body held suspended from the cable will be highlybeneficial. After the user arrives at a point adjacent to but in advanceof the post or upright lO he checks his speed by a series of shortsteps, as he will then be in reaching distance of the groundsurface. Thecarriage is then detached from the cable 11, and the user or operatorthen ascends the steps 19 and applies the carriage to the cable 21 andreturns by a like operation to the front end of the inclosure defined bythe fence 2.

It will be understood that the posts 9 and 10 and 16 and 17 may bearranged at any distance apart, and, furthermore, the carriage set forthmight be at times employed as a means for conveying persons overstreams, ravines, or other places over which a cable similar to thecables 11 and 21 may be stretched to form an aerial railroad or tramway.

Changes in the proportions, dimensions, and minor details of the severalparts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new is- 1.An apparatus of the class set forth, consisting of an inclined cable, anobject suspended adjacent to the cable, and a carriage for removableapplication to the cable, said carriage being adapted to be grasped bythe user who endeavors to strike the device suspended near the cable.

2. In an apparatus of the class set forth, the combination of aninclined aerial railroad, a carriage movable over the said railroad, anda device movably suspended at an intermediate point in relation to saidrailroad and depending below the latter. f

3. The combination with a cable, of a car- TOO IlO

riage movable thereover and comprising an upper membel` having a pair ofsheaves therein, a lower member hinged to the upper member and carryinga sheave, grips projecting outwardly from opposite Sides of the lowermember, and means for locking the lower member closed against the uppermember.

The Combination with a Cable, ot' a earriage movable thereover andhaving an upper member carrying sheaves, a lower member hinged to theupper member and also Carrying sheaves, and means for looking' the lowermember closed in relation to the upper member.

5. The combination with a cable, of a carriage movable thereover andhaving a lower hinged member, grips projecting outwardly

